digital newspapers

Accessibility of
Spanish digital
newspapers
Summary
Accessibility in Spanish On-line Newspapers
Discapnet’s Information Accessibility Monitor is an initiative from the Operative Program to
Fight Discrimination, co-financed by the ONCE Foundation and the European Social Fund to
improve digital literacy and access to the Information Society for people with disabilities.
The ways of accessing information are evolving with the technologies that provide
the support media for that information. Even though the classic printed page is still
being used by most daily newspaper readers, visits to on-line digital varieties are
increasing at astounding rates. For many people with disabilities, such as the
visually impaired or people with severe upper-body mobility difficulties, online
media, to the extent that they have been designed for and maintained the criteria
for accessibility, have proven to be their first opportunity to access the information
and services that the press provides to all readers.
The right to information is undeniable in our context, and the chance to access the
support media it is presented on is an essential requirement to be able exercise
that right. Being informed is also a requirement for proper educational,
professional, and personal development. Awareness of current events and social
issues under constant debate, and the ins and outs and ups and downs of society,
economics, politics, culture, and sports is vital to completing and updating the
formative development of one’s own abilities, to make informed decisions that may
affect private and professional endeavors, to interact with colleagues, clients, and
suppliers, to feel part of the worries, values, controversies and consensus that
underlie the social construct of reality that the community makes and re-makes day
by day.
In particular, the daily press is a key tool for looking for jobs and identifying
opportunities for professional promotion. Although websites dedicated specifically to
providing intermediary services in the job market have developed greatly in recent
years, many job offers are still posted primarily or exclusively in the daily press.
The online papers are slowly beginning to add sections specifically dedicated to the
classified job postings found in their printed editions, incorporating search tools to
enhance the user’s experience and make it easier to find the most suitable
opportunities in each case. This trend is particularly perceptible the financial press,
which has a readership of highly qualified professionals, and is therefore a muchused channel for businesses to find candidates for skilled and management
positions. Clearly, the accessibility of online media is a vital requirement for
disabled people to take advantage of this new channel of information.
The sports press, on the other hand, enjoys some of the largest circulations of the
mass media, including in its on-line varieties, and are thus highly inclined to
incorporate innovations designed to increase their readership. Many assiduous daily
newspaper readers started their habit by reading the sports press; this is equally
likely of handicapped people who begin using on-line news sources by starting with
the sports news available on the net, which would then play a significant role in the
process of digital literacy for collectives that may otherwise risk being excluded.
The analysis of this type of news may also help identify trends and trouble-shoot
Made by:
problems arising in the on-line press. In addition, the mere fact of undertaking the
problems of information accessibility of on-line news in and of itself involves using
information technology to raise the awareness of the professionals and staff in
charge of the media being analyzed. Motivated by the desire to find out about the
standing of their respective sites in detail as described in the reports, they will have
in-depth knowledge about the real possibilities and difficulties faced by the
handicapped in integrating at work and fully participating in society via the
instruments of the Information Society. This more realistic detailed knowledge will
slowly infuse the treatment those same media and professionals give later on to
issues involving the handicapped, thereby increasing social awareness.
In the present study, the Information Accessibility Monitor analyzes the criteria of
accessibility to the web content of the main on-line newspapers in Spain. It also
presents the opinion on the site of a group of users with varying types of handicaps
and ways of navigating. The study was made on a selection of 15 newspaper
websites covering general, sports, and financial news.
The results of the technical analysis reveal scarce application of the criteria of
accessibility; none of the websites analyzed stands out clearly over the rest. The
best scores, obtained by the sports daily MARCA, barely surpass 25% success in
applying criteria for accessibility to their web content. The rest did not even attain
that percentage.
On the other hand, the users gave a better opinion when answering the satisfaction
questionnaire. The top-ranking newspaper sites were El Mundo (76.11%) and
Expansión (75%), whose scores place them among the best-rated sites in the
studies undertaken by the Monitor. The average scores obtained on the satisfaction
questionnaire, at 61.93%, is the highest attained so far, and may reflect the test
users’ stated familiarity with these digital media when performing the tests.
For people with functional impairments, the advantage of being able to operate on
their own means, without need of supports they find hard to use, are an added
benefit to the ones for the population at large. The potential clientele from this
group is nothing to disdain, and from a business point of view, it is worth winning
them over through the correct use of the web design techniques for making
websites accessible.
By the year 2012, it will be mandatory for private-sector websites to be designed
accessibly. The time has come, then, not only to become aware of the existence of
barriers in the web for some users, but also to adopt the opportune measures to
remove them. The best way to carry out this task is by knowing the technical
criteria and providing suitable training to those who design, develop, and maintain
the contents on these websites.
Made by:
Accessibility of Spanish
digital newspapers
1. Introduction.
Access to information is evolving thanks to the technologies serving as the medium
for that very information. While the classic paper format newspaper continues to be
the most commonly read form of daily press, it is also true that access to digital
versions is growing at an extremely rapid rate. Overlooking the unquestionable
certainty that most printed newspapers are read (or at least skimmed) by more
than one person, we can give an example of the use rate between that and the
digital version of the same newspaper in two cases 1 :
•
•
In 2006, the general information newspaper El Mundo had a daily print
edition circulation of 320,161. Its digital version received a daily average
of 289,502 individual visitors.
The sports newspaper Marca had a daily print-version circulation of
314,007. Its digital version received a daily average of 159,770
individual visitors.
This figures point to the significance of the digital versions of printed newspapers.
Further confirming this fact is the emergence of newspapers whose only platform is
Web-based distribution such as Libertad Digital, Periodista Digital and Confidencial,
main attractors of individual visitors.
The right to information is alienable in this day and age and the options available to
gain access to the media on which this information is presented must be addressed
with the seriousness they merit. In this study, the Info-accessibility Observatory
analyses the accessibility criteria as applied to the content published on the portals
of the major Spanish digital newspapers and the experience and opinion of a group
of users with different types of functionality and browsing techniques. To this end,
15 newspaper portals were selected based on criteria described further on in this
study, featuring general, sports and economic information.
2. Discapnet's Info-accessibility Observatory.
In 2004 Discapnet, a project co-funded by the ONCE Foundation for the
Cooperation and Social Integration of Persons with Disabilities in Spain and
European Social Fund (ESF), launched the Info-accessibility Observatory for the
purpose of generating and disseminating information on Web accessibility through
the analysis of specific sectors and by making inter-sectoral comparisons and
monitoring the evolution of accessibility over time. As a result of this line of work, a
number of Web portal accessibility reports have been published and disseminated
on the Web. 2
The aim of Discapnet’s Info-accessibility Observatory is to inform the public and
highlight not only compliance levels with guidelines currently in force but also good
practices and the main barriers or impediments found in the Web, including the
perspective of users in this assessment. Greater knowledge of the strong and weak
points detected by experts and users of different portals and in different sectors will
help to enhance understanding of what accessible Web design really means. This is
1
Data taken from the Web page of the Distribution Justification Office (Spanish acronym OLD)
consulted
on
2
February
2007
on
information
for
the
printed
version
(http://www.ojd.es/ojdx4/diarios2.asp) from July 2005 to June 2006 and for the digital version
(http://ojdinteracitva.ojd.es) from December 2006.
2
These works are available at:
http://www.discapnet.es/Discapnet/Castellano/Observatorio_infoaccesibilidad/default.htm
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Accessibility of Spanish
digital newspapers
particularly important in the case of managers, designers and developers of sites,
tools and services within the sphere of this media, growing in importance with each
passing day, to whom improvement guidelines are furnished.
The Observatory uses an innovative methodology developed by Technosite, an
ONCE Foundation company. Pursuant to the W3C/WAI recommendations,3 this
technology combines technical accessibility analysis with an assessment of usability
and accessibility based on feedback from the users themselves:
•
The frame of reference used in the assessment of the technical aspects is
based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 of the W3C/WAI, 4
synthesised into a set of indicators applied to a sample of pages per portal.
Verification is conducted by professionals by means of automatic and
manual testing.
•
Assessment by a panel of users with differing functional capacities (persons
with upper-limb mobility difficulties or who cannot see or hear) is carried out
by means of a number of tasks and a questionnaire to get an idea of
perceived satisfaction from the different sites. This allows for the
identification of barriers and favourable aspects and is a way to check the
“information architecture” (i.e. the way content is organised, browsing
systems, search and orientation) and interaction processes between the user
and the Websites.
The combination of these two approaches furnishes relevant, systematic and
qualified information on the degree of accessibility in the sectors under study
offering learning experiences for the correction and improvement of the Internet.
3. Sample selection.
The sample consists of 15 digital newspapers. Five characteristic pages of each of
these were singled out for the technical analysis and the conducting of users' tests.
Users were subsequently asked about their degree of satisfaction in terms of
browsing and overall handling.
The sample was as follows:
-
Six general information newspapers with a print version.
-
Three general information digital newspapers with no print version.
-
Three sports newspapers.
-
Three business newspapers.
The following daily press websites were subjected to our technical analysis and user
assessment:
1. EL PAIS (www.elpais.es).
2. EL MUNDO (www.elmundo.es).
3. ABC (www.abc.es).
4. LA VANGUADIA (www.lavanguardia.es).
3
W3C/WAI: Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium). For further information
go to http://www.w3.org/WAI
4
Available in English at (http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/), on the W3C/WAI Website, and in Spanish
on
at
(http://www.discapnet.es/Discapnet/Castellano/Accesibilidad/WebAccesible/default.htm)
Discapnet’s Website.
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Accessibility of Spanish
digital newspapers
5. LA VERDAD (www.laverdad.es).
6. 20 MINUTOS (www.20minutos.es).
7. LIBERTAD DIGITAL (www.libertaddigital.es).
8. PERIODISTA DIGITAL (www.periodistadigital.com).
9. EL CONFIDENCIAL (www.elconfidencial.com).
10. MARCA (www.marca.com).
11. AS (www.as.com).
12. SPORT (www.sport.es).
13. EXPANSIÓN (www.expansion.com).
14. CINCO DÍAS (www.cincodias.com).
15. LA GACETA DE LOS NEGOCIOS (www.negocios.com).
Five representative pages featuring the following characteristics were analysed in
the case of the 15 selected sites:
a) Home page.
b) News page.
c) Result page from a search with the word discapacidad (disability).
d) Press library page or the like.
e) Contact page or the like.
4. Aspects assessed.
As in the case of previous work performed by Technosite for Discapnet’s Infoaccessibility Observatory, the tests to verify the accessibility status of the sites
studied have two axes:
•
Technical evaluation.
•
User experience.
4.1. Results of the technical evaluation of Web accessibility.
The technical evaluation included an analysis of 12 accessibility aspects covering
the majority of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 of W3C/WAI (WCAG
1.0) corresponding to levels A and AA. In the view of the Technosite experts
responsible for the study, these criteria are able to provide a fairly accurate
overview of a Website’s accessibility. Generally speaking, they include priority 1
aspects and, in some cases, priority 2. The verification points (specifically
addressed in the section on results analysis) are:
1.
Validation of W3C technologies (priorities 1 an 2 in WCAG 1.0).
2.
Frames (priorities 1 and 2 in WCAG.1.0).
3.
Forms (priorities 1 and 2 in WCAG.1.0).
4.
Alternative text in the case of multimedia elements (priority 1 in
WCAG 1.0.)
5.
Headers (priority 2 in WCAG 1.0).
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Accessibility of Spanish
digital newspapers
6.
Relative units on style sheets (priorities 1 and 2 in WCAG 1.0).
7.
Clearly identified links (priority 2 in WCAG 1.0).
8.
Contrast (priority 2 for images in WCAG 1.0).
9.
Semantic use of colour (priority 1 in WCAG 1.0).
10.
Linearised table content (priority 2 in WCAG 1.0).
11.
Data tables (priority 1 in WCAG 1.0).
12.
Scripts (priority 1 in WCAG 1.0).
We should also point out that the pages of the sites analysed may change over time
meaning that the results registered herein refer exclusively to the status of the said
pages on the dates that the evaluation was conducted (second and third week of
April 2007).
Table 1, showing the percentage obtained by each of the digital newspapers in
descending order, provides an overview of the results of this technical Web
accessibility evaluation.
Table 1.
Classification of the portals based on success percentages in the proper application of the
criteria analysed in the Web accessibility technical evaluation tests.
Portals
Marca
Libertad Digital
La Vanguardia
La Verdad
Periodista Digital
El Confidencial
El Mundo
ABC
La Gaceta
Cinco Días
El País
Expansión
Sport
20 Minutos
As
Average
Success rate
(%)
28.57
23.40
18.75
16.67
16.33
16.33
14.89
14.89
12.50
12.24
11.76
11.11
10.00
7.14
4.00
14.57
We should mention that this compliance rate cannot be associated with the site’s
global accessibility given that a only a limited sample of 5 pages per site and only
some aspects of accessibility were analysed. Guideline verification points, also an
important element in WCAG 1.0 were not included in the analysis.
The results speak for themselves and can only be interpreted as a clear lack of
application of accessibility criteria to Web content on the part of Spanish digital
newspapers. The average success rate of this technical analysis is the
lowest of any obtained to date in the studies conducted by this
Observatory: 14.57%
Only one of the portals analysed, the sports journal Marca, scored above the 25%
threshold coming in at 28.57%. In this case, however, only 4 rather than 5 pages
were analysed given that this portal does not have a search engine (a fact which
does not reflect positively on that newspaper either). The rest all scored below that
mark, with less than 20 percentage points separating the lowest and highest
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Accessibility of Spanish
digital newspapers
scores. This is the first time in any of our studies that scores were so concentrated
in the lowest quarter of the scale.
Table 2.
Percentage of correct pages broken down by accessibility criteria
Criterion
Semantic use of colour
Linearised table for markup
Data tables
Colour contrast in images
Style sheets
Clearly identified links
Headers
Validation of HTML and CSS code
Scripts
Alternative text for images
Forms
Frames
Percentage
100.00
85.07
66.67
27.03
8.11
7.04
4.05
1.35
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
Table 2 shows success percentages achieved by the sample for each criterion
applied in the technical analysis of this study. The result obtained in the semantic
use of colour stands out: all 4 of the pages where said use of colour was found
correctly apply the accessibility criteria and hence a 100% success rate. Two other
criteria which stand out for their correct use are linearised tables for markup
(85.07% success rate) and the correct labelling of data tables (66.67%). Of these
three criteria with the highest success rate ranking, only the linearised data tables
section had a relevant number of cases (67 pages analysed), while only a scant
number of cases was found for the other two criteria (4 for the semantic use of
colour and 6 for data tables).
With the exception of colour contrast in images conveying textual information
(27.03% success), the rest of the criteria are below the 10% success rate threshold
and 4 were at 0%: Frames, Forms, Alternative text for images and Scripts.
4.2 Results of the users’ assessment.
Each of the 6 users received a self-administered test for the assessment of the Web
portals of the digital newspapers.
The users received the following instructions for the assessment of each of the 15
portals:
1. Browse the Web and search for indicated sites.
2. Carry out 5 tasks for each of the portals assessed.
3. Write down the result of each task, the steps followed and the amount of
time needed.
4. Note any aborted tasks due to accessibility difficulties encountered.
5. Answer a satisfaction questionnaire containing 10 multiple choice questions
(4 options per question), providing reasons for each answer.
The results obtained were tallied to extract comparable and measurable conclusions
in percentage terms.
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Accessibility of Spanish
digital newspapers
Once the tests were turned in, a meeting was held with the participating users to
reach a consensus and gather general impressions regarding the accessibility and
usability of the portals assessed.
Table 3 shows the results obtained in terms of success, error and aborted attempts
for the 6 users and the 5 tasks they were instructed to carry out on the 15 portals
included in the sample.
Table 3.
Success, error and aborted attempts in the user assessment tasks expressed in absolute
terms and percentages of the total.
Portal
Success
Error
26
23
22
22
21
21
21
21
20
20
20
19
18
18
16
308
68.44
3
1
3
5
3
3
5
3
6
3
3
2
6
3
2
51
11.33
El Mundo
Cinco Días
ABC
Expansión
Periodista Digital
Marca
As
Sport
La Verdad
20 Minutos
La Gaceta
El Confidencial
El País
Libertad Digital
La Vanguardia
Total:
%
Task
aborted
1
6
5
3
6
6
4
6
4
7
7
9
6
9
12
91
20.22
Of the 450 tasks attempted, 308 were successfully concluded (68.44%) while 51
errors were registered (11.33%). The 91 aborted tasks (20.22%) were due to
service accessibility or usability problems.
The following relevant information was gleaned from the results:
1. In comparison with previous studies conducted by this Info-accessibility
Observatory, user test success, error and aborted task results in respect of
digital newspapers are within the average range, although we should point
out that error percentage was low and the aborted task percentage high.
2. The portal with the best results in terms of task success was the El Mundo
newspaper (26 of the 30 tasks were successfully carried out). This portal
also has one of the lowest number of errors committed per user when
carrying out the tasks (3 or 10%) and has the lowest number of aborted
attempts (only one of the 30 tasks undertaken by the users ended up being
aborted).
3. In the case of the Cinco Días portal, users only committed one error in the
30 assigned tasks making it the best in this aspect. The number of
successes was also good (23 or 76.66%) but 6 of the tasks had to be
aborted meaning that 20% of the tasks could not be concluded by the users.
4. On the negative side, the fewest number of successes was obtained by La
Vanguardia (16 of the 30 assigned tasks) and 12 had to be aborted (the
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Accessibility of Spanish
digital newspapers
highest number of all of the portals analysed) and 2 errors were committed
by the users when carrying out the 30 tests putting this portal in last place
in this section of the evaluation.
5. The portals giving rise to the greatest number of errors were El País and La
Verdad, both registering 6 errors out of the 30 tasks. In the case of El País,
this figure is accompanied by 6 aborted attempts and only 18 successes
making it the second worst of the portals analysed. In the case of La
Verdad, the figures are a bit more discrete with 20 tasks successfully
completed and 4 cases in which users had to abort their attempts.
These data lead to the overall conclusion that Spanish digital newspapers need to
substantially improve the design of their Web portals if they want to make their
information and services available to certain users. It is fair to say that the public
represented by this sample of users met with obstacles, either due to error
or aborted attempts, in 3 out of each 10 tasks assigned when consulting digital
newspapers.
Table 4.
User satisfaction results expressed as percentages.
Portal
%
El Mundo
Expansión
La Verdad
As
20 Minutos
Sport
Marca
La Gaceta
Cinco Días
Libertad Digital
El País
El Confidencial
ABC
Periodista Digital
La Vanguardia
76.11
75.00
69.44
69.44
66.67
65.56
64.44
64.44
61.11
57.78
57.22
55.00
54.44
48.89
43.33
Average:
61.93
The satisfaction results obtained by each portal from the “ad hoc” questionnaire
that each user filled out after carrying out the assigned tasks were expressed in
percentage terms and set out in table 4 (5 of the participants had some functional
limitation and one did not).
The following is the most relevant information gleaned from these data:
1. The overall average of the user satisfaction test was 61.93%, the highest
obtained to date in the studies conducted by this Observatory.
2. The portal receiving the highest user satisfaction rating was El Mundo
(76.11%) followed very closely by Expansión (75%). These portals are not
among the best in the technical analysis reaching percentages of only
14.89% and 11.11% respectively.
3. The percentage gap between the 13 portals receiving the highest user rating
is less than 22 percentage points indicating tightly-clustered ranking.
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Accessibility of Spanish
digital newspapers
4. Only two of the portals, La Vanguardia (43.33%) and Periodista Digital
(48.89%) are below the 50% threshold in terms of user satisfaction when
carrying out the tests.
5. In addition to the aforementioned El Mundo and Expansión, the digital
newspapers rated above the mean (61.93%) are La Verdad and As (both
with 69.44%), 20 Minutos (66.67%), Sport (65.56%) and Marca and La
Gaceta de los Negocios (both with 64.44%).
6. The portal with the highest score in the technical section, Marca, is in the
middle of the satisfaction table with a score of 64.44%.
7. The rest of the portals are all below the mean but within this sub-group 13
portals received satisfaction assessments above 50%: Cinco Días (61.11%),
Libertad Digital (57.78%), El País (57.22%), El Confidencial (55%) and ABC
(54.44%).
4.3 Combined assessment.
Graph 1 is a global presentation of the combined results of the technical analysis
and users’ assessment.
The following points should be considered when interpreting the graph:
1. The vertical axis represents the results of the user satisfaction assessment
expressed in percentage terms.
2. The horizontal axis represents the results of the technical analysis expressed
in percentage terms.
3. The graph is in map form with four quadrants reflecting accessibility
(technical analysis) and usability (according to the user satisfaction
indicator), where:
a. the top left quadrant contains the most useable sites in accordance
with user experience but are not very accessible according to the
criteria of our technical analysis;
b. the top right quadrant contains the most useable and most accessible
sites;
c. the lower left quadrant contains the least useable and least
accessible sites;
d. the lower right quadrant contains the least useable and most
accessible sites.
4. The diagonal line drawn from the lower left corner to the upper right corner
represents the points on the graph where both assessments would be
equally useable and accessible. Points above that diagonal are considered
more useable (judging from the experience of the users) than accessible
(technical analysis based on our criteria). The opposite would be true for
points below the diagonal, i.e. more accessible than useable
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Accessibility of Spanish
digital newspapers
Graph 1. Combined results of the technical analysis and the users’ assessment in the study of
Spanish digital newspaper portals.
100
User satisfaction assessment (percentage)
90
80
EX
MU
70
AS
VE
20 S P
MA
GA
CD
60
PA
LD
CO
AB
PD
50
VA
40
30
20
10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Technical analysis success (percentage)
Legend: This graph represents the combined results of the technical analysis and the user assessment
in a quadrant table:
•
Upper left (yellow): technical analysis below 50% and user assessment above 50%.
•
Upper right (green): technical analysis and user assessment above 50%.
•
Lower left (red): technical analysis and user assessment below 50%.
•
Lower right (blue) technical analysis above 50% and user assessment below 50%.
The following abbreviations were used for each of the portals analysed. In parenthesis is the percentage
obtained in the technical analysis followed by the user assessment (separated by a slash):
AB: ABC (14.89/54.44).
AS: As (4.00/69.44).
CD: Cinco Días (12.24/61.11).
CO: El Confidencial (16.33/55.00).
EX: Expansión (11.11/75.00).
GA: La Gaceta de los Negocios (12.50/64.44).
LD: Libertad Digital (23.40/57.78).
MA: Marca (28.57/64.44).
MU: El Mundo (14.89/76.11).
PA: El País (11.76/57.22).
PD: Periodista Digital (16.33/48.89).
SP: Sport (10.00/65.56).
VA: La Vanguardia (18.75/43.33).
VE: La Verdad (16.67/69.44).
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Accessibility of Spanish
digital newspapers
20: 20 Minutos (7.14/66.67).
Interpretation of the data from Graph 1 leads to the following conclusions:
o With the exception of La Vanguardia and Periodista Digital, all of the portals
in our sample are situated in the upper left quadrant meaning that they are
useable but not very accessible.
o
The portals outside of this quadrant, La Vanguardia and Periodista Digital,
are situated very close to the upper limit of the lower left quadrant for
portals which are not very useable or accessible and are therefore not far
from the general trend.
o
All of the portals analysed are very far from and above the diagonal line
dividing the graph in two and it would therefore be fair to say (as is typically
the case in all of the studies conducted by this Observatory) that the user
experience is more satisfactory than the success of the portals in the
technical analysis based on accessibility criteria.
o
This study does not reveal any particularly salient result and the
concentration of results in one part of the graph indicates that a general
trend is followed by all of the digital press portals showing acceptable user
experience but poor application of accessibility criteria.
5. Conclusions.
The purpose of the studies conducted by Discapnet’s Info-accessibility Observatory
is to show the current state of Web content accessibility. They also seek to provide
information which can be used to improve these sites and tailor them more closely
to the needs of the users of this virtual service. In this connection, this section
contains the conclusions which we consider to be the most important and, although
objectivity compels us to portray a reality which is not very bright, they suggest
guidelines which could help to improve the sector.
1. Of the studies conducted by this Observatory, the portals of Spanish digital
newspapers obtained one of the poorest results in terms of compliance with
accessibility criteria. This contrasts with the best result in terms of user
satisfaction when browsing these portals. This could be due to the familiarity
which the users who participated in the test admitted to have with these
digital media.
2. A general trend has been detected towards results which point towards
acceptably useable but poorly accessible sites. It is, therefore, of the
essence carry out a thorough review of the accessibility characteristics
applied to the templates used by digital newspapers and a degree of
improvement in usability aspects which would turn these portals into
accessible media for all.
3. In this case we cannot speak of examples to be followed when it comes to
accessibility criteria given that the best result obtained (Marca with a
28.57% success rating based on those criteria) is just not good enough.
Practically all of them were in the lowest quartile, suggesting a general
recommendation to review accessibility characteristics.
4. As for user experience, based on the user satisfaction parameters, El Mundo
(76.11%) and Expansión (75%) could be considered examples to follow but
with possible room for improvement by applying the aforementioned
accessibility criteria.
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Accessibility of Spanish
digital newspapers
5. It was discouraging to find that no favourable result was found in any of the
pages evaluated in the case of 4 of the 12 accessibility criteria checked.
Aspects such as alternative text in the case of images (indispensable for the
comprehension of this content for blind users) or forms (providing the
expected interactivity for on-line media) were not designed, in any of the
pages checked, bearing accessibility criteria in mind. The poorly designed
frames and scripts characterising all of the pages examined would certainly
spell obstacles, sometimes insurmountable, for a large number of users who
access Spanish digital newspaper content with special browsing tools.
6. A further four accessibility criteria failed to reach the 10% success rate in
the technical analysis. We would draw attention to the fact that code
validation to formal grammars (HTML and CSS) only achieved a 1.35%
success rate despite the fact that there are automatic tools able to furnish
us with a detailed analysis and the possibility to correct this aspect with
minimal effort. The correct application of style sheets so that they do not
cause loss of content or incorrect location, the suitable use of links
(especially when situated on images) or the application of headers to
structure contents, make for better browsing for all and are aspects which
have been addressed by template developers and content managers of
Spanish digital press portals.
7. Turning to the results obtained in carrying out the tasks proposed to users,
we can say that nearly one third of the actions required to access digital
information which are specific to the characteristics of our users met with
difficulties leading to errors or aborted attempts in searching for the
information they were requested to seek.
8. The permanent renewal of content on these portals calls for paying closer
attention to the design of the templates used and greater care taken by the
content manager in maintaining them. An effort in this sense would greatly
improve results and possibly increase the number of persons seeking
information through this media.
We would like to note the existence of a specific version entitled “Discapacitados”
(disabled) whose purpose is to make information available to those with functional
limitations. This is a noble gesture but we feel it is insufficient. First of all, our users
were wrong in believing that under that heading they would gain access to a
specific version more adapted to their needs when actually there was simply
information on disabilities. Furthermore, access to the said information requires a
registration process using a simple form but with some labelling problems. This
leads to two problems: it forces the user to first of all browse a home page which
has accessibility problems and requires him/her to fill out a form (where other
problems may be found), unnecessarily prolonging the consultation process.
Assuming that content is updated in this specific version simultaneously with that of
the general version, we continue to insist that it is not appropriate to offer a large
group of potential visitors a port of access different from that offered to all other
users. We suggest that the efforts made by this digital newspaper, praiseworthy as
they are, would be better focused on developing a single version which is more
accessible for all.
6. Final Reflection.
Web-based information is accessed by citizens with increasing frequency. It offers
conditions that other media simply cannot provide thanks to its permanent update
and the possibility of access from any location where there is an Internet
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Accessibility of Spanish
digital newspapers
connection. Digital newspaper users should be able to access the information they
need in a swift and simple manner in keeping with that special characteristic of
speed and selectivity which this media allegedly offers as added value vis-à-vis the
rest. Enhancement of usability is therefore essential if the established aim is to be
achieved: offer visitors updated information and allow them to quickly and easily
select the content they are interested in. We should not forget that a useable site
with some obstacles in its design stops being useable for a large group of users
who, given their specific functional conditions or the type of browsing equipment
used, can only access information if accessibility criteria are respected and applied
to Web content in accordance with standardised rules.
In the case of individuals with functional limitations, the benefit gained from being
able to operate using their own means without having to handle media which is
difficult for them is greater than for the general population. The potential customer
base comprised by this social group is by no means insignificant, and from a
commercial point of view it would be interesting to gain their loyalty through the
proper use of Web design techniques to make portals accessible.
In this study we encountered important technical design problems in the majority of
the portals. Users found their experience in the use of the portals included in the
sample to be relatively satisfactory and awarded the highest scores to date in our
studies. But this satisfaction is of little worth if a third of the actions they undertake
cannot be successfully concluded due to accessibility problems.
Considering that a high percentage of people would benefit from the application of
Web page accessibility criteria because that would help them overcome the barriers
they encounter in printed material, it would be very helpful if those responsible for
these portals took heed of this fact and fostered the application of these criteria
which would lead to not only an improvement in service quality but also to an
increase in the number of readers and hence, commercial profits.
By the year 2012, all private initiative Web portals must be designed for
accessibility. It is therefore no longer enough to simply note that Web barriers exist
for some users; it is time to take the necessary steps to eliminate them. The best
way of accomplishing this task is to first of all be aware of applicable technical
criteria and provide suitable training for those who design, develop and maintain
Web content.
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